71-.2 73 I-3 ally Growth of Douglas-Fir cF. 2 in a Reciprocal Planting By Kim K. Ching Research Paper 3 August 1965 C1% A G Nt"n a N\ ' \' i5 CON Forest Management Research FOREST RESEARCH LABORATORY OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY Corvallis FOREST RESEARCH LABORATORY The Forest Research Laboratory, Oregon State University, is part of the Forest Research Division of the Agricultural Experiment Station. The industry-supported program of the Laboratory is aimed at improving and expanding values from timberlands of the State. A team of forest scientists is investigating problems of growing and protecting the timberland crop, while wood scientists endeavor to make the most of the material produced. The current report stems PURPOSE . . from studies of forest management. . Develop the full potential of Oregon's timber resource by: increasing productiveness of forest lands with improved practices. improving timber quality through intensified management and selection of superior trees. reducing losses from fire, insects, and diseases--thus saving timber for products and jobs. Keep development of the forest resource in harmony with development of other Oregon resources. I PROGRAM .. REGENERATION through studies of producing, collecting, extracting, cleaning, storing, and germinating seed, and growing, estab- - lishing, and protecting seedlings for new forests. YOUNG-GROWTH MANAGEMENT through studies of growth and develop- ment of trees, quality of growth, relationship of soils to growth, methods of thinning, and ways of harvesting to grow improved trees. FOREST PROTECTION through studies of weather and forest fire behavfor to prevent fires, of diseases and insects to save trees, and of animals to control damage to regrowth. TREE IMPROVEMENT through studies of variation, selection, inheriLance, and breeding. CONTENTS Page SUMMARY . . . 2 . . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. . . . . . . . INTRODUCTION ... . . . . . . . . . Design of experimental plots .. . . . . . . . . . . . . RESULTS AND OBSERVATION. . . Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Growth in height. . . . . . . . . LITERATURE CITED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . DISCUSSION . . . . . . Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 . . . . . .6 . .6 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . .20 . . . . . . SUMMARY Survival and growth during three years at 8 out-planting areas are reported for Douglas-fir from 14 sources of seed. Early survival was highest near Nimpkish on Vancouver Island. At most plantations, trees from the local seed source grew as well as did those from the best three sources. Trees from seed collected at northern and southern extremes of the study grew least in the three years. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Cooperators with Oregon State University in furnishing land, seed, labor, and supervision of plantations include: British Columbia Forest Service Canadian Forest Products, Ltd. Crown Zellerbach Corporation Washington Dept. of Natural Resources Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd. Jack Stump and Kenneth McCrae MacMillan, Bloedel, and Powell River, Ltd. Medford Corporation Oregon State Board of Forestry Simpson Olympic Tree Farm University of British Columbia United States Forest Service Weyerhaeuser Company 2 Early Growth of Douglas -Fir in a Reciprocal Planting by Kim K. Ching INTRODUCTION Out-plantings of Douglas-fir at various locations in northwestern United States and British Columbia will allow comparisons among trees grown from seed collected near each location. Such comparisons may demonstrate advantages of planting seed from certain sources in some areas. Growth and survival after three years at selected plantations are related here. The importance of selecting the proper seed source for reforestation has been known to foresters for many years. Systematic experiments dealing with such a subject began as early as the nineteenth century (1)*. Studies of seed source in Douglas-fir have attracted a great deal of attention since European countries began to introduce this timber species. Information accumulated rapidly through the years from Douglas-fir plantations established in Europe and the southern hemisphere as well as in the United States (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12) has provided a wealth of knowledge to guide planting. In the Northwest; private as well as public agencies have participated enthusiastically in this particular field of study. In 1954, staff of the Research Division of the Oregon State Board of Forestry (now in the Forest Research Laboratory, Oregon State University) began to plan a region-wide provenance study of Douglas-fir in the Pacific Northwest. Information on seed collection and results of growth of various groups of Douglas-fir seedlings in the nursery were reported in Silvae Genetica (3), January 1960. The current report deals with growth of these seedlings after they were out-planted. Design of experimental plots A reciprocal design for planting was adopted in this experiment. Plantations were established at, or near, each seed-collection site (Figure 1) so that seedlings of local provenance could be compared with stock from other provenances. Each out-planting area has two plantations, usually situated from 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart (Figure 2). A plantation occupies 5.69 acres and consists of two blocks. Each block has 121 trees of each seed source *Numbers in parentheses refer to similarly numbered references cited. 3 Nimpkish Forest. Courtenay area. Haney area. Shelton area. Elbe area. Molalla area. Salem area. High prairie, Oakridge. 127 Figure 1. 126 127 123 124 122 121 120 Locations of plantations in provenance study of Douglas-fir. Arrows indicate those reported here. 4 13A 8A 14A 7A 4B 10B 1B 13B 6A 1A 4A 12A 9B 15B 5B 2B 15A 5A 11A 16 7B 8B 115 14B 9A 3A 12B 3B 6B 165 4D 12D 10A 2A Plantation 1 11D 8 C 2C 16C 4C 16D 6D 352 88 5C 13C 9C 12C 5D 3D 7D 10D 11C 3C 15C 7C 1D 9D 13D 15D '_H 88 F*-- -4I - Plantation 2 704 Figure 2. Arrangement of plots in plantations for provenance study of Douglas-fir. Dimensions shown are in feet. with a spacing of 8 by 8 feet. Only the innermost 49 trees of each seed provenance within the block were selected for measurement. Assessment First measurements in the field were made at the end of the first growing season following out-planting in the spring of 1959. Subsequent data were collected in the field in 1960 and 1961. Examinations made on various plantations included the following data: 1, survival; 2, current growth in height of terminals on each living tree; 3, total height of each living tree; 4, damage to trees by ani- mal clipping, grouse nipping, or frost. All these data were sent by each cooperator to the Forest Research Laboratory to be assembled, summarized, and analyzed. 5 RESULTS AND OBSERVATION This progress report is restricted to information collected on growth of seedlings of 14 seed sources in 8 of the original 16 outplanting areas. Selection of these planting sites for this report is based on availability of data for at least two seasons in the field. Seedlings in those areas that have been excluded were damaged heavily by mammals, birds, or adverse climatic conditions. Damage by rabbits was found in plantations supposedly with rabbit-proof fencing. In the Tillamook area, Z7 percent of the provenance stock treated with animal repellent (Zag) was destroyed two days after planting. Survival For three seasons, survival of trees of different provenances at each plantation was recorded,whether or not they had been damaged by animals or other environmental factors (Table 1). Where there were dead trees in the first-year tally, the replaced trees were not tallied in subsequent years; therefore. the percentage of surviving trees refers to the originally planted trees. There is no doubt that the plantation in the Nimpkish area on Vancouver Island (area A) has the best planting site for establishment of seedlings based on survival in early stages, regardless of the origin of seed sources. In the Willamette valley of Oregon, the plantation in area L showed much mortality the first year, and the trend continued in following years. Only seedlings originating from three seed sources (B, D, and P) maintained a fair amount of stock of the original planting at area L. The other plantation on Vancouver Island (area B) had a high rate of survival during the first and second years in the field, but was damaged severely by deer in the third year. The plantation (area E) maintained by the University of British Columbia at Haney, Canada, suffered some damages by hares in the first year, but surviving trees did very well subsequently. As for the plantations in areas K and 0 in Oregon (high-elevation sites at Molalla and Oakridge), only the former had more than half of the originally planted materials still growing vigorously after three years in the field. Growth in height In all plantations, damage to trees either by animals or by adverse climatic conditions was recorded. To assess the amount of damage that would retard growth of a tree, separate measurements of total height were compiled for those trees that had never been damaged and for those that suffered damage, but were alive when measured. Surprisingly, in most instances, "never damaged" trees were no more than slightly different from those that had been damaged previously. 6 Trees that never were damaged are compared for 14 provenances in Table 2 with damaged trees at areas A, B, E, K, L, and O. So few trees were undamaged at areas G and H that values given apply to all living trees, damaged and undamaged together. Trees at each area were ranked in height by seed source. Seed sources that produced seedlings not significantly different in height when analyzed statistically are grouped by brackets. Significant differences in height existed among seedlings of different geographical origins at the end of the second growing season in the Oregon State nursery. Seedlings from seed sources B, C, and D on Vancouver Island and G near Shelton, Washington, were taller (at the 1 percent level of significance) than seedlings from other sources . Trees from seed sources A and P (northernmost and southernmost) were shortest of all the groups. At the end of the third season in the field, trees from two Canadian seed sources, B and C, and from one near Shelton, Washington, G, had grown outstandingly in height. In most plantations, trees of seed sources A and P had grown least. Local seed sources at some planta- tions produced seedlings that grew about as well in their own locale as did seedlings B, C, and G, which were among the tallest at most plantations. Such relationships are illustrated in Figures 3-10, except that local seed source is not shown for location E because these seedlings were a year younger than the other trees. To avoid cluttering the graphs, not all 14 seed sources are shown. 7 Table 1. Yearly Survival of Trees Planted in 1959 at Eight Locations. Percent, Based on Number Planted. Seed source 00 A. Nimpkish Forest. B. Courtenay area. 1959 1960 1961 A 95 95 91 92 B C D G 98 95 95 96 96 95 94 99 98 94 94 94 93 94 95 96 92 92 94 96 97 94 96 94 95 96 96 93 98 96 97 95 94 M 95 92 92 91 N 0 P 93 96 91 94 90 94 89 90 92 91 91 H I J K L 95 93 1959 -T-1960 91 96 1961 --' 89 97 -- 97 -- 88 E. Haney area. I-9-59J-1960 G. Shelton area. 1961 1959 ( 1960J-19-6-1 86 85 86 85 81 82 78 84 62 61 58 58 95 87 93 87 91 96 -- 96 90 -- 89 88 87 86 -- 93 94 67 78 67 93 59 75 62 93 -- 93 94 93 92 88 73 71 96 -- 91 56 82 59 64 65 85 95 77 83 83 92 82 62 84 82 95 95 87 87 90 96 ------- 91 94 90 89 90 87 90 88 88 87 86 88 94 94 92 92 88 85 83 85 91 81 91 91 61 63 68 54 81 81 Seed source 10 A 43 B C 75 D G H 71 1961 34 70 60 64 32 54 41 48 45 36 30 I 51 45 X40 J 40 28 K 64 33 53 L 46 41 35 M 50 44 N 0 P 1 H. Elbe area. 1959-1 1960 68 42 37 45 50 40 47 K. Molalla area. 1959 1960 1961 L. Salem area. 1959 1960_t1961 0. Oakridge. 1959 1960 1961 77 88 89 69 84 66 78 32 19 17 54 75 61 82 79 78 68 92 81 77 72 68 82 39 62 53 68 85 80 74 74 71 59 80 47 67 56 41 36 57 45 79 78 80 71 57 52 45 45 33 31 45 43 58 52 55 51 65 71 68 51 69 69 69 67 65 42 47 57 54 49 73 74 63 67 77 66 63 76 64 24 63 32 16 14 38 34 74 83 74 58 26 51 58 70 42 52 23 61 40 39 50 37 38 81 47 68 45 71 64 62 71 66 62 59 46 70 65 61 59 47 43 68 58 60 51 79 _ 55 32 57 41 65 45 44 Trees at area B, near Courtenay, were damaged extensively by deer in 1961, and survival was not recorded that year. Table 2. Growth in Height,in Centimeters, of Douglas-Fir of 14 Provenances at 8 Locations. Seed Sources Not Significantly Different at Level Shown Are Bracketed. 1960 1959 Height Seed Rank source Location Seed Un damaged Damaged source 1 G C 23.7 21.4 G 21.8 21.6 H 21.5 20.9 21.3 20.5 0 5 I H D M 34.9 32.2 30.5 30.4 30.1 6 K 20.8 20.3 B 29.8 7 J 20.8 20.6 J 28.4 8 B 20.8 20.5 28.4 9 M 19.6 19.1 18.2 17.4 16.9 19.2 18.7 17.8 16.7 16.4 I K D A 16.5 16.1 10 11 12 13 14 LSD Seed damaged 23.8 22.6 4 Height UnDamaged source Un- Damaged damaged A Nimpkish Forest. 2 3 1961 Hei &ht 0 A L P N C L P N 2.57 (1% level) 28.2 27.7 26.4 25.0 24.0 22.2 4.51 35.1 G 58.8 59.0 31.7 30.4 30.3 C 0 52.6 51.0 51.0 52.3 50.3 51.1 29.4 28.9 H B 50.8 48.5 50.7 47.4 27.9 28.2 27.2 27.3 26.0 24.4 23.5 D 48.4 46.3 44.7 44.0 43.9 43.5 40.6 35.4 46.9 45.3 44.4 42.6 43.5 42.0 40.4 21.9 (1% M J I K A L P N level) 35.4 10.43 (1% level) Location B Courtenay area. . 1 C 28.1 2 G 3 J 27.8 27.1 26.5 D 1 25.5 26.2 24.7 22.4 C G J 1 41.2 40.1 39.2 38.4 1l 39.5 39.0 37.2 36.2 B 6 H 7 I 8 M 12 K 0 L N 13 A 14 P 9 10 11 SD 25.7 25.5 25.4 25.2 24.7 22.6 22.0 21.6 21.4 23.7 24.4 24.0 22.6 23.7 21.0 20.3 20.2 20.6 D 20.6 5. 01 (1% level) 19.8 N 41.7 40.5 39.6 38.9 38.7 38.5 35.4 35.1 34.8 34.3 31.9 31.8 30.6 30.2 38.3 39.0 37.0 35.7 36.7 37.3 33.5 33.3 32.0 31.6 31.1 29.3 28.6 27.8 K 38.4 37.4 37.0 M 36.7 H 35.8 33.9 32.6 30.9 30.8 30.0 B L 0 P A 34.9 36.3 36.1 35.0 36.0 32.9 31.9 29.8 29.3 29.0 6.89 (5% level) Location E Haney area. 1 C 2 G 3 B 4 I 6 K H 7 J 8 D 5 9 10 11 12 13 M A P N 0 14 L LSD No differences (5% level) C G B I H K A M J D p L 0 N 71.2 66.9 64.6 64.4 63.6 62.4 59.0 58.0 57.0 54.7 53.8 52.2 51.0 50.1 64.9 64.6 59.7 59.1 61.0 59.2 52.5 53.8 52.9 51.4 52.4 49.0 48.1 46.5 Table 2. (Continued) 1960 1959 Rank Seed source Undamaged Damaged 1961 Height Height Hei ght Seed source UnI damaged UnSeed Damaged source damaged Damaged Location G (damaged and undamaged live seedlings grouped together) Shelton area. 1 2 C G 4 B H 5 0 6 I 7 D J 3 8 9 10 K 11 N 12 M 13 A 14 P LSD L 25.1 24.4 23.9 23.9 22.3 21.2 20.6 20.5 20.0 19.8 19.3 19.2 18.6 17.2 3.35 (1% level) C B G J D H 0 I K L M A N P 42.2 41.9 38.7 36.3 35.8 35.1 33.2 32.4 32.0 31.0 28.9 28.4 27.5 26.6 No difference (5% level) L 64.8 54.5 53.3 50.9 50.3 49.7 48.8 45.4 45.2 44.3 42.2 A 36.1 P N 35.9 32.6 14.48 (1% level) C G M H B 0 K I D J Location H (damaged and undamaged live seedlings grouped together) Elbe area. 1 2 3 4 C G B H 26.8 26.6 26.4 24.3 H C G B 36.8 33.2 32.3 31.6 1 0 6 I 7 D 8 J 9 10 N K 11 L 12 A 13 M 14 P Location K Molalla area. 22.7 H 1 2 G 22.1 21.8 20.8 20.2 H K I A N L M J P A 25.0 24.0 23.5 23.2 22.3 21.6 21.3 21.0 20.7 19.8 20.3 M 20.0 20.2 L K P 19.8 18.0 19.9 18.0 A 3 C 4 I 5 B 20.1 20.0 N 6 19.2 18.8 18.6 18.0 J 7 N L 8 D 18.4 18.2 9 10 0 18.3 17.5 16.8 16.7 16.5 16.5 18.1 17.0 16.3 16.4 16.2 16.4 D 0 J 11 M 12 A 13 K P 2.83 (1% level) I 25.5 23.9 23.7 23.4 22.5 22.1 21.5 21.2 20.7 20.4 20.0 22.0 21.4 20.5 LSD D No difference (5% level) LSD 14 0 23.1 22.5 22.5 22.0 21.9 21.7 21.5 21.2 20.2 19.0 I G C B L 4.54 (1% level) H G C D B M 0 K J N P 28.1 27.8 27.4 1 26.7 26.1 25.2 25.1 24.9 22.6 22.0 9.63 (1% level) 31.7 31.7 30.7 30.6 29.3 28.3 31.8 30.7 30.5 30.2 29.4 28.2 27.2 26.8 26.0 25.9 25.9 25.3 24.9 22.7 26.9 26.7 26.0 Z5.3 25.7 24.4 24.7 22.5 6.93 (1% level) Table 2. (Continued) 1959 Seed Rank source Height Hei ht Undamaged 1961 1960 Hei ht Seed Damaged source Undamaged Seed Un Damaged source damaged Damaged '1_.ocation L Salem area. 1 D C 26.3 25.7 25.7 25.9 D 2 3 B 25.4 25.3 B 4 G L 6 H 7 1 23.0 22.3 21.8 21.6 24.6 18.8 21.7 21.1 I 5 8 21.4 20.8 H 20.3 18.2 11 J 20.7 19.4 19.2 19.2 17.8 17.4 K 1 0 0 K N 18.5 19.1 17.5 16.9 J 9 2 M 3 A 4 P D' 5.62 (1% level) C G 0 M L P A N 44.0 40.7 38.5 35.7 34.9 34.4 34.0 44.0 40.7 39.3 34.9 34.2 34.1 33.1 33.6 32.8 30.9 34.8 32.7 31.7 29.9 27.5 26.7 26.0 30.2 26.9 25.8 25.1 11.64 (1% level) D C B G I M H 0 K J P L A N 74.2 67.6 62.4 60.1 59.3 57.6 57.0 53.8 53.7 51.5 44.0 42.4 42.2 41.7 18.22 (1% level) 74.1 67.3 62.7 59.8 59.1 57.1 56.9 53.3 54.3 51.1 44.1 41.6 41.2 40.6 Location 0 High prairie, Oakridge. C 3 G D 4 B 5 H 6 0 7 J 8 L 9 M. 10 11 K N 12 I 13 P 14 A 2 LSD 28.6 28.3 28.3 28.1 26.1 24.9 24.3 23.9 23.3 22.3 21.6 21.4 20.3 18.9 6.94 (1% level) 26.4 25.2 27.5 26.3 25.8 23.8 23.6 22.9 22.7 21.8 21.4 20.9 20.5 18.4 D B C G H J M 0 A L I K N P 42.7 41.5 40.1 39.9 38.9 37.3 37.2 37.0 36.0 35.4 35.2 34.4 32.6 30.1 42.3 39.7 39.0 36.9 38.6 37.0 36.7 35.9 35.2 34.5 35.0 34.4 32.5 29.7 No difference (5% level) ANNUAL GROWTH AT PLANTATIONS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 60 50 Dotted lines indicate local seed source 10 60 0 1957 1958 #959 1960 1961 Figure 3. Nimpkish Forest. 50 40 70 ,30 60 20 50 10 240 0 1957 z 1958 1959 1960 1961 Figure 4. Courtenay area. X30 x 0 S 20 10 0 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 Figure 5. Haney area. 16 ANNUAL GROWTH AT PLANTATIONS IN WASHINGTON Dotted lines indicate local seed source 70 60 1957 1958 1959 1960 20 1961 Figure 6. Shelton area. 10 0 Figure 7. Elbe area. 17 ANNUAL GROWTH AT PLANTATIONS IN OREGON Dotted lines indicate local seed source 70 60 1957 1958 Figure 8. 1959 1960 1961 Molalla area. 50 W 2 40 TO 60 10 0 1957 1958 Figure 9. 20 10 0 1957 Figure 10. 1958 1959 1960 1961 High prairie, Oakridge. 18 1959 1960 1961 Salem area. DISCUSSION Wakeley (10) pointed out that many contradictory results of seedsource studies could be related to raising planting stock of various provenances in different nurseries. Their survival and rate of growth were reflected in a different degree of significance. Stone and his coworker (8) found the same phenomenon in their study of ponderosa pine. In the present study, all seedlings were raised in one nursery, so the effect of a differential selective force by nurseries was avoided. Few provenance tests have included seed from trees near the plantings, and this circumstance made difficult comparing the growth rates and adaptability of local and nonlocal races from early establishment to maturity. The present study provides such an opportunity, because more than half of the plantations were able to survive and furnish valuable information for making such a comparison. Caution should be exercised in interpreting results at this early stage, as these preliminary observations are based on only a few years' growth, and were not derived from all provenance stocks from all plantations represented in this study. Other experiments (9, 11) have indicated that a pattern of early growth may be altered as trees under observation grow, although study of growth in height of wind-pollinated progenies of ponderosa pine (2) has shown that data on early growth can be useful in predicting future growth. 19 LITERATURE CITED 1. Baldwin, H. I. Forest Tree Seed. Chronica Botanica Co. 1942. 2. Callaham, R. Z., and A. A. Hasel. "Pinus Ponderosa, Height Growth of Wind-pollinated Progenies." Silvae Genetica, Band 10, Heft 2: 33-42. 1961. 3. Ching, Kim K., and D. N. Bever. "Provenance Study of Douglasfir in the Pacific Northwest Region. I. Nursery Performance." Silvae Genetica, Band 9, Heft 1: 11-17. 1960. 4. Munger, T. T., and William Morris. Growth of Douglas-fir Trees of Known Seed Sources. U.S.D.A., Tech. Bul. No. 537. 1936. 5. Rohmeder, E. "Professor Miinchs Anbauversuch mit Douglasien verschiedener Herkunft and andern Nadelbaumarten in Forstamt Kaiserslautern - Ost. 1912 bis 1954." Z. Forstgenetik 5: 142156. 1956. 6. Schober, R. Experiences with Douglas-fir in Euro e. Paper presented at the World Consultation on Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement. Stockholm, Sweden. 1963. Douglas-fir in New Zealand Forest Research Institute, New Zealand Forest Service. Technical Paper 7. Spurr, S. H. Observations on No. 38. 1961. 8. Stone, E. C., and R. W. Benseler. "Planting Ponderosa Pine in the California Pine Region." J. Forestry 60: 462-466. 1962. 9. Wakeley, P. C. "Results of the Southwide Pine Seed Source Study through 1960-61." Sixth Southern Conference on Forest Tree Improvement. 1961. 10. Wakeley, P. C. "Reducing the Effects of Nursery Influences Upon Provenance Tests. SAFTIC-CSFTI." Forest Genetics Workshop Proc. pp. 28-32. 1963. 11. Weidman, R. H. "Evidences of Racial Influence in a 25-year Test Agr. Res. 59: 855-887. 1939. of Ponderosa Pine." 12. Wallis, C. P., and J. V. Hofmann. "A Study of Douglas-fir Seed." Proc. Soc. Amer. For. 10: 141-164. 1915. 20